Staffed with trainers from China qualified with Masters in Teaching Chinese as a Second Language,The Language Tree uses materials published by the top universities in Beijing to train its students to speak the language with accurate pronunciation and free of the influence of local dialects.

Having expanded from its original location in Solaris,The Language Tree now has its own centre at Galeria Hartamas in Desa Sri Hartamas. Courses are interesting and unique, ranging from beginning to advanced levels, and are focused on communication – speaking, reading and typing emails and SMSs. In fact, homework is mostly done via email and facebook.

The most popular course is Core Mandarin, a course covering all aspects of communication mentioned above, catering to beginning, intermediate and advanced levels. Rapid Literacy caters to those with a Chinese background who can speak and understand but are unable to recognize characters.Their Interactive Audio Visual Chinese is a fun course from Beijing where intermediate level students watch an actual popular TV serial (animated/sitcom) in China; this trains their audio and oral skills while picking up colloquial vocabulary. They also run other programmes such as Mandarin for Young Learners, Business Mandarin, and Calligraphy.

The Language Tree also creates the environment for its students to develop their language skills by holding a Chinese corner weekly, chaired by a trainer to introduce Chinese culture and give students a chance to socialize and practice their Mandarin. Twice a year, they offer holiday programmes at their centre and also organize immersion programmes in China.

The Language Tree has its roots in Beijing. Ex-banker founders Raymond & Luisa spent two semesters at the Beijing Language and Culture University and Tsinghua University.They had so much fun learning the language, and found the teaching methodology which specially catered to non-native Chinese speakers so effective, that they decided to bring it back to Malaysia due to the unique racial demographic and the number of foreign expats in the country.

A journey of 1000 miles begins with a first step. Getting it right from the start makes it easy, so it’s important to have the right foundation.

For more information on courses at The Language Tree, call 03.6211 3677/ 03.6209 9900 or email [email protected]. Their website iswww.thelanguagetree.com.my and they are also on facebook under thelanguagetree.

Source: The Expat March 2012 
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This article has been edited for ExpatGomalaysia.com